Spill the beans... on your holiday tricks

Bob_the_Saver

cazn30 wrote: »

I always take a bottle of cordial with me, and when i arrive i buy a couple of bottles of water, mix the cordial with the water and freeze them for long days on the beach, they take hours to defrost(as long as there not directly in the sun) so you have iced cold drinks throughout the day!!

I always take a bottle of Rum with me, and when I arrive I buy a couple of bottles of Rum, mix the Rum with the Rum and try to freeze them for long days on the beach, they take hours to warm up (as long as there not directly in the sun) so you have iced cold drinks throughout the day

Bob_the_Saver

pippo wrote: »

We use a £7.00 kettle from Asda - [STRIKE]steal[/STRIKE] take a few extra cartons of milk from the ferry and Bob's your uncle!!

I demand a paternity test !

zagfles

Don't change cash in the UK, get a best-buy card (eg Clarity, Metrobank) and withdraw cash from the first ATM you get to (eg in foreign airport).

When eating out look for the restaurants the locals use, if you don't speak the language get a phrase book so you're not restricted to places with an English menu. Don't feel the need to have starters and desserts every day, we usually just have a main course and get the kids an ice cream on the way back (mainly because we want to be able to fit in the plane seat on the way back, nothing worse than coming back off holiday a stone heavier!!)

If hiring a car get an excess insurance in advance, never pay rip-off prices for "Super CDW" when picking the car up. Or use a local hire company in the resort and pay cash.

In the US if going off-peak don't book hotels/motels in advance (except perhaps in major cities), and always negotiate the price - they will nearly always give you a discount if you haggle.

Be very careful with mobile costs, especially if you have a smartphone!! Look for roaming packages, or even better get a local SIM if you're there for a while.

If you're restricted to the UK school holidays, don't book a package and look for somewhere where it's outside the local peak season (late August is quite cheap in most of Europe). Or fly from Scotland if you're English and vv, we've had some cracking deals in the October half term flying from Glasgow.

Try to learn a bit of the language, at the very least the words for "please" and "thank you". You will get better service, occasionally even freebies, sometimes even cheaper prices!

Becles

zagfles wrote: »

Try to learn a bit of the language, at the very least the words for "please" and "thank you". You will get better service, occasionally even freebies, sometimes even cheaper prices!

And if you are 4 years old like my daughter was last year, it doesn't take long to work out if you ask for your orange juice at the bar in Spanish, the lady will be over the moon and give you a sweet

pippo

I do think there is a difference between MSE & Miser and like previous posts there are decisions to be made about whether a holiday is worth it if you have to watch every penny.

I used to say I would rather not go if I had to 'be careful'... but now, I will happily go, not being mean, but being a bit careful!
Loads of things to consider, some obvious, bulk buy water, cool bag etc.
Mr P still takes his 'refilled' miniatures of whisky through security, in the plastic bag! and is told that's OK.

Best investment for me is the 'executive lounge', trawl for best deals, use a cashback site, then relax, and drinks and snacks included! Last year paid £12 each - (£5.50 cash back refunded later) .. a couple of drinks and a snack at the airport would soon add up to more than that.

Noticed on the flight home that others who had been in the 'lounge' on the way out seemed to be eating the same packet snacks that were available in the lounge!! Perhaps they fell into their bags:rotfl:

I couldn't possibly comment!!:T
Pip
x

pippo

Bob_the_Saver wrote: »

I demand a paternity test !

Do you really want to go there Bob??:rotfl:

lexilex

I have just posted about this in another topic, but I think it's a huge money saver and should be mentioned here too.

Do a lot of research before booking airport parking.

Holiday Extras and Essential Travel/Monarch offer a price guarantee. If you book with them, and then find it cheaper elsewhere (usually within 24 hours so you have to act quick) they will refund you the full amount. Simply take a screen shot of the website offering the same package cheaper and email it over.

The parking has to be like for like, exactly the same package, and it has to be cheaper without using an discount codes or loyalty discounts. It's also worth paying the extra few pence for cancellation incase they refuse it.

This was originally posted over on HUKD, although its posted on other forums too. People have saved hundreds of pounds doing this.

Holiday Extras don't refund until you arrive back from your holidays, Essential Travel refund straight away.

I've recently had a refund approved, and I am really pleased as it means I can put the money towards spending money.

Every little helps!

This also works on airport hotels and airport hotels with parking.

Savvy_Saver_Forever

I pack a screw top lid mug and herbal fruit tea bags for the plane. Then, when everyone else is paying at least £2.50 for a drink, you just ask for hot water, which all airlines I've travelled on provide for free - and chill out with a herbal tea!

I also buy a Boots meal deal from the airport which offers better value for money than airline food.

I pack a lunch from breakfast for the beach or day out. I tend to always go to Spanish resorts and I speak the basics of holiday Spanish fluently. This means the staff love me and turn a blind eye to making and packing a sandwich at breakfast, when on half board!

Planning is everything - I always find the bus timetable on the internet weeks before I go and plan my journeys to different towns and beaches. By the time I'm on holiday, I'm confident enough to use public transport.

Some Spanish resorts offer Bono bus tickets which work out as much as half price or 33% extra free, depending on the island. This saves me as much as 15 euros per holiday.

Most 4 star hotels now offer free WiFi, so you don't need to pay 1 euro for 10 minutes in the PC's on pay per go.

tabbycat

We take our own toiletries, suncare and first aid kit on holiday to Europe as the resort prices are often much higher - paid a fortune for a small packet(16) of local brand paracetamol last year in Sardinia.

I also check the prices of my favourite perfume before we go as it's easy to think that the prices in the bargain pefume shops in your resort or 'duty-free' shops at the airport are cheaper - often they are much more expensive.

We bought a 12 bottle pack of water from the local supermarket and cooled them in the room fridge to take on days out (packed small insulated bag to keep them cool), as to buy cold water by the bottle while sightseeing was at least double the price.

We also buy bread, fruit, cheese and cooked meat at the local market or supermarket to make lunch. I also take a travel kettle and my own instant coffee and teabags. It is also often much cheaper to buy a bottle of wine/ spirits from the local supermarket to drink in the evenings on your balcony... can be quite romantic!:blushing:

tabbycat

Oh, and when the children were still quite young we would buy beach mats, a beach umbrella and buckets and spades on day one when we went abroad. We always left them behind for the next family to use when we left. It saved us quite a bit of money as to hire a sunshade and a couple of loungers on Spanish or Italian beaches over a fortnight was very expensive. It also meant we could nip down to the beach for just an hour or so after a day out without having to find an empty lounger/ umbrella to rent.

However, now that I am semi-retired (they keep moving my state pension further away), we did this again last year in Sardinia - they were charging between 25 and 40 euros per day for a sunshade and two loungers on our nearest beach. We bought a very posh beach umbrella for 15 euros and a couple of beach mats at 5 euros each at a local shop - we only had to use them twice to make them worthwhile.

BUT, they also did not provide any public toilets at any of the beaches we visited. You had to buy something from the cafe and then ask for the key to the one portaloo - 10 euros for a small can of Coke was the cheapest thing. Any one got a money saving way round that? :whistle: